If ever there were an indication that the slow legitimisation of music originally conceived for video games has born fruit, this is surely it. That the historic Deutsche Grammophon label, highly esteemed for the quality of its core classical releases, should now release a whole album of solo piano arrangements of one Japanese game composer shows recognition of the recent surge in popularity of this form. Where once players were content for music to be an adjunct to the game experience, now they seek to make it central. Evidence of this can be found in the increasingly popular concerts of ‘video game music’, in the market for OST (Original Sound Track) releases, and, as here, in high-quality arrangements.
Nobuo Uematsu enjoys huge esteem, especially in Japan, largely on account of his contributions to the soundtracks of various entries in the vastly popular Final Fantasy series published by Square Enix. Understandably the selection here trades heavily on that legacy, but also include arrangements from several of Uematsu’s more recent scores, Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey. Read more...
